We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Not an important war, but the Brits did burn down my hometown in Connecticut. Also, the small town of Washington DC. Fort McHenry is in it, and New Orleans too.
Really, only Canadians still remember much about it except for the song.
Good book, lots of pictures. What a crazy time. No good, decent guys in the story.
Some interesting things I have learned from it thus far:
- "Assasin" was the Europeanized word for Hashimi - the fundmentalist Shi'ites fueled by hashish. Hated the Sunnis. - The Moslem Jerusalem had been full of Christians and Jews too. Tolerant. Until the Crusaders killed them all including the Christians who lived there. - In the 1000s, any pilgrim could take a boat to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. No problem. No reason to march overland and fight every fortified city. - The Middle East had constant warfare before and after. Turks, Emirs, Moslems, etc.
Compared to their Mid-western and Central American relations, the Northeastern American Indians led primitive and scattered lives until agricultural society was imported from Central America around 1300-1400.
If you like Patrick O'Brian's naval stories, Thomas Cochrane's career will seem familiar. However, Cochrane's astonishing career was beyond any credible historical fiction. He should be better-known, especially with his South American exploits. There are monuments to him in Peru, Chile, and Brazil.
One heck of a life. Titanium balls for sure. Not crazy, just ballsy.
Europe counted on Australian grain through the 1800s to early 1900s, and later. The great square-rigged ships continued the grain trade through the 1940s.
Their route took advantage of the westerly winds to circle the globe in the Roaring Forties around the Cape of Good Hope, to Australia, then east around Cape Horn. 11 months or so.
I never learned all of this. It seems like it was a minor, unnecessary war, but it changed the relationship between the US and Britain. In the end, it was all about money and banking.
Happens to be a NYC weekend for us. Yesterday a little urban hiking and brunch with the kids at supposedly the best seafood restaurant in the world (!?) - Milos. They give you a tour of the fish they have on ice before you order.
Tourists, visitors, and locals everywhere - just wonderful. Theater later today Sunday.
I am an avowed Anglophile. I spent 2 semesters studying there, visited 6 times, and am now listening to the British History Podcast. Britain and its history is just something with which I'm fascinated. I've never been a fan of the monarchy. The Queen, over time, I've come to respect. I'm not trying to say the monarchy is 'good' or that any monarch is special and should be deified or otherwise held in high regard. As Americans, it's hard to square how we could hold the British (or any) monarchy with any good feeling - we cast them off for plenty of reasons.
On the other hand, there are people who dislike the monarchy, and the Queen in particular. Mostly their reasons that aren't very good, because they don't understand the monarchy. The dislike I've seen is related more toward envy or general distrust of the institution. These people usually don't understand the role, the history, the value, etc. Few people know the Royal Family brings in far more than it receives from taxpayers. It's estimated, that the Sovereign Grant costs roughly $1.30 per citizen annually. Of course, this doesn't account for the amount of tax revenue the Royal Family itself generates from the taxes it pays, the revenue generated from tourism to see 'their' holdings, or just money spent marketing them as a 'brand'. They are as much a draw and benefit as it is a glorified 'welfare family' (a joke I used to make when I was younger and spent time there) - they actually pay for themselves when all is said and done. The monarchy's history is messy, ugly and sometimes difficult to fathom based on modern ethical standards. That has more to do with the differences in eras than ethics, though.
I saw a commentary on the Queen's passing. "Despite the colonial injustices perpetrated by the British Monarchy against Indigenous people, I would still like to wish her majesty Queen Elizabeth II — a blessed journey." Since I saw this particular one, I've seen several that are far, far worse (one from a linguistics professor at Carnegie Mellon, which was horrendous and had Sunny Hostin of The View defending. I will skip that one. It was so bad I'm amazed anyone with half a brain defended it. Some people are just truly awful and hateful. So I'll stick to this one comment, because it is more a backhanded compliment than outright hate. Even so, it's still misplaced.
How 17th C people made ale and beer - 
